Sunday, August 25, 2013

In Marslow’s hierarchy of human needs, shelter ranks second
to food, which pre-supposes that without food, shelter is the most
important of all man’s needs on earth. Similarly, the National Housing
Policy (NHP) of 1991 states that every Nigerian has a right to a decent
and affordable accommodation.However, the housing situation in Nigeria today, where the
demand-supply gap is as wide as 16 million units with only 10 percent
homeownership, obviously belies both Marslow and the NHP.A critical look at this deficit shows that it tilts stubbornly
towards housing for the poor who can hardly afford the millions-of-naira
property that the market offers. In a mortgage-free environment like
ours, where homeownership is by cash and carry and there is no social
housing arrangement by the government, the poor are mere spectators,
begging the question as to who builds for them.

We are worried that whereas the government tells whoever cares to
listen that its responsibility in housing delivery is creating the
enabling environment, private sector operators in the housing sector
have concentrated efforts at building for the rich and the wealthy,
leaving the poor to their fate.

A one-time commissioner for housing in Lagos State told
journalists at a groundbreaking ceremony that government cannot build
low-cost housing because it also goes to the same market where building
materials are costly, adding that they are also in business to make
profit. But a developer who spoke to BusinessDay said low-income housing
is the business of government, explaining that lack of infrastructure
and cost of building make that segment of the market unattractive.

The developer said that his company, without any apology, develops
and delivers housing to the mid-upper end of the property market,
arguing that he would do mass housing only on the condition that he
would get land free of charge, or at least it must be given to him at a
huge concession. “Also, I must get title for the land just by asking,
that is, once I apply, I am given. Even at that, it must be given to me
almost free of charge or at a huge concession,” he added.From these standpoints, we can appreciate the dilemma of the poor
in relation to homeownership and, for us, it is a very pathetic, though
not helpless, situation.

Much as we believe in free enterprise and that
the business of housing delivery is better managed by the private
sector, we do not subscribe to a total abdication of the sector by the
government because housing has a lot to do with policy issues. Apart
from favourable regulatory issues around land matters, government should
also be sincere and responsible enough to provide enabling environment
for private-sector operators to come in and deliver affordable housing.

We align with the president of the Nigerian Institution of Estate
Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV) who has consistently canvassed some form
of social housing for the very poor in society whose income cannot
support homeownership. According to him, even though the housing sector
is better driven by the private sector, government still has to enable
equitable distribution of housing to ensure that everybody is properly
housed, adding, “In India, for instance, there is the Council Flats with
all manner of social housing components.”

We recall that when the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) was set
up, part of its mandate was to develop rent-to-own and social housing
for the class of Nigerians who needs them. Today, the authority has gone
commercial, building houses where two-bedroom and three-bedroom flats
go for N6 million and N9 million, respectively.Because of its huge impact on productivity and economic growth, we
are of the opinion that all stakeholders should explore possible ways
of making housing accessible and affordable to the poor